APA (NASDAQ:APA) Given New $23.00 Price Target at The Goldman Sachs Group

APA (NASDAQ:APA) had its price target hoisted by The Goldman Sachs Group from $21.00 to $23.00 in a report issued on Thursday,MarketScreener reports. They currently have a sell rating on the stock.

Several other equities analysts also recently weighed in on the company. Wolfe Research reissued an “outperform” rating and set a $35.00 target price on shares of APA in a research report on Wednesday. Royal Bank Of Canada boosted their price target on APA from $24.00 to $25.00 and gave the company a “sector perform” rating in a report on Monday, November 17th. Sanford C. Bernstein cut their target price on shares of APA from $26.00 to $25.00 and set a “market perform” rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, January 5th. Mizuho upped their price objective on APA from $20.00 to $22.00 and gave the stock an “underperform” rating in a research note on Friday, December 12th. Finally, UBS Group raised their target price on shares of APA from $26.00 to $30.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Friday, December 12th. Six investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, sixteen have assigned a Hold rating and five have issued a Sell rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $26.39.

APA Trading Down 3.7%

Shares of APA stock opened at $25.55 on Thursday. The business has a 50-day moving average price of $25.04 and a 200-day moving average price of $23.04. APA has a twelve month low of $13.58 and a twelve month high of $27.72. The firm has a market cap of $9.06 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 6.14, a PEG ratio of 11.84 and a beta of 0.74. The company has a quick ratio of 0.78, a current ratio of 0.78 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.62.

APA (NASDAQ:APA) last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, November 5th. The company reported $0.93 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.74 by $0.19. APA had a return on equity of 19.86% and a net margin of 15.49%.The business had revenue of $2.12 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.06 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $1.00 EPS. The company’s revenue was down 16.4% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities research analysts anticipate that APA will post 4.03 EPS for the current fiscal year.

APA Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, February 23rd. Investors of record on Thursday, January 22nd will be given a dividend of $0.25 per share. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, January 22nd. This represents a $1.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.9%. APA’s payout ratio is currently 24.04%.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On APA

A number of institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of APA. Apollon Wealth Management LLC boosted its stake in shares of APA by 95.4% in the fourth quarter. Apollon Wealth Management LLC now owns 18,868 shares of the company’s stock worth $462,000 after buying an additional 9,213 shares during the last quarter. Foundation Resource Management Inc. lifted its holdings in APA by 6.4% in the fourth quarter. Foundation Resource Management Inc. now owns 244,242 shares of the company’s stock valued at $5,974,000 after acquiring an additional 14,779 shares during the period. Wetzel Investment Advisors Inc. lifted its holdings in APA by 6.7% in the fourth quarter. Wetzel Investment Advisors Inc. now owns 21,405 shares of the company’s stock valued at $524,000 after acquiring an additional 1,353 shares during the period. Cidel Asset Management Inc. boosted its position in APA by 7.9% in the 4th quarter. Cidel Asset Management Inc. now owns 9,240 shares of the company’s stock worth $224,000 after purchasing an additional 680 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Signaturefd LLC grew its stake in shares of APA by 8.5% during the 4th quarter. Signaturefd LLC now owns 13,695 shares of the company’s stock worth $335,000 after purchasing an additional 1,077 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 83.01% of the company’s stock.

Trending Headlines about APA

Here are the key news stories impacting APA this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Jefferies raised its price target on APA to $22 (from $21) and kept a “hold” rating — a modest positive signal that trims downside versus prior forecasts. Jefferies PT raise
• Positive Sentiment: The Goldman Sachs team bumped its price target to $23 (from $21) even while retaining a “sell” rating — the higher target is marginally supportive of the share price versus the prior forecast. Goldman Sachs PT raise
• Positive Sentiment: Zacks updated short-term quarterly estimates (small increases to some Q3/Q4 items), indicating analysts are still refining near-term forecasts rather than cutting them uniformly. Zacks estimates update
• Neutral Sentiment: Pre-earnings previews (Yahoo Finance, Barchart) note consensus expects a double-digit earnings contraction for APA in the upcoming quarter — this sets a lower bar for the quarter but is informational until results are released. Yahoo earnings preview Barchart earnings preview
• Negative Sentiment: Zacks downgraded APA from “hold” to a “strong sell” — a substantive negative rating change that increases selling pressure and signals low analyst conviction. Zacks downgrade
• Negative Sentiment: Barclays reaffirmed an underweight/negative stance on APA, contributing to the sell-side consensus pressure. Barclays downgrade
• Negative Sentiment: JPMorgan trimmed its price target to $25 (from $26) and kept a “neutral” rating — a small but incremental cut that removes upside and signals caution. JPMorgan PT cut

APA Company Profile

APA Corporation (NASDAQ: APA) is an independent exploration and production company engaged in the acquisition, development and production of oil and natural gas resources. The company operates through three core regions: the United States, Egypt and the North Sea. Through its integrated approach, APA combines geological and geophysical expertise with technical innovation to identify and develop hydrocarbons in both onshore and offshore settings.

In the United States, APA’s largest position is in the Permian Basin of West Texas and southeastern New Mexico, where it holds substantial acreage dedicated to oil-focused drilling and production.